Interesting Fund Raiser
Someone is exploring the possibility of ending the City Residency requirement:
- City of Chicago employees have been long held under the big thumb of residency. Historically that hasn't been a completely terrible thing, however as we all know too well the city has changed. This is not the once great Chicago I was born and raised in. This is no longer a safe place to raise our families, educate our children, or even afford to live in some instances. Therefore, I have set out on a quest to take on the residency requirement that handcuffs us all.
- The initial process entails a fact finding and research component that will be necessary before we can consider filing a lawsuit. This research component has been negotiated to a flat rate of $10,000 with the attorney. I want to make very clear that this initial process DOES NOT mean we are filing a lawsuit. This DOES NOT mean we are going to win if and when we do. This is a research endeavor to see what our chances and basis for a lawsuit would be, I want to make this very clear that you are donating to fund the initial research component and should we decide to move forward there will be additional fundraisers as this will not be a cheap process.
This is, of course, the longest of long shots. Illinois passed a Law a long time ago (decades and decades) that municipalities with a population of over one-million were allowed to set residency rules for their employees. It has been accepted practice since then and for some reason, the unions all went along with it.
But....
In every instance when similar laws have been challenged at the Federal level, the unions have won (Milwaukee and Pittsburgh if we recall) to name two. NYC has something like a "six-county rule" for their employees. Many other government entities have a "seasonable driving distance" in case of emergency call-outs.
And not to put too fine a point on it, we can name at least a dozen cops of all ranks who got caught living outside the city for years and managed to buffalo the City into zero disciplinary action.
We can also name numerous elementary and high schools where the number of suburban city stickers on teacher vehicles outnumber City of Chicago stickers on a daily basis. It's almost like different strokes for different folks. Funny how that works.
In any event, we neither recommend nor denounce this effort. Everyone should make their own choices, spend their own money, explore all the options. It's becoming far too dangerous and expensive to be tied to a city sinking under the weight of incompetence.
(WARNING: Any comment stating "you knew what you signed up for" will be summarily deleted. We all know, we all did, we didn't have to like it, and everything changes at some point with enough effort. If we followed your advice, we'd still be answering to the crown in England)
Labels: we got nothing
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
46 Comments:
Who’s collecting the money? FOP president? All he had to do was file the lawsuit like everyone else who won
If residency is removed its my conetnetion that the medical roll will be eliminated and sick days will be reduced to 12 a year. I cant see CPD Sgts doing medical checks in Shaumburg or Tinley Park. I also wouldnt like driving in from Arlingto Hts or Sauk Village every day,
Im retired, but just saying.
A recent case was just decided of a PO living in Lombard. The key was residency vs. abandonment. Here’s a bit of the verbiage used to win.
Applicable Law
Section 2-152-050 of the Municipal Code of Chicago states “All officers and
employees of the city shall be actual residents of the city.” “Residency” is not defined by
any rule or statute. Residency is a nuanced determination set out in case law. It is
important to note that establishing residency and abandoning residency are two
different propositions having differing requirements of proof. Maksym et al. v. Board of
Election Commissioners of the City of Chicago et al., an Illinois Supreme Court decision that
3
Police Board Case No. 24 PB 3038
Police Officer Thomas D. McNichols
Findings and Decision
is the highest and most widely cited authority on residency, sets forth the following
“well-settled” principles:
First, to establish residency, two elements are required: (1) physical presence, and (2)
an intent to remain in that place as a permanent home [citations omitted]. Second,
once residency is established, the test is no longer physical presence but rather
abandonment. Indeed, once a person has established residence, he or she can be
physically absent from that residence for months or even years without having
abandoned it[.] Maksym et al. v. Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Chicago et
al, 242 Ill.2d 303 at 319 (2011), quoting Kreitz v. Behrensmeyer, 125 Ill. 141, 195 (1888).
(All emphasis in the original.) (Maksym’s continued reference to short absences is
irrelevant to Respondent’s case.)
Maksym gives examples such as a Chicago resident who winters in Florida or someone
working extensively abroad. Regardless of the amount of time spent away, both are still
Chicago residents.
Let’s go! Where can I volunteer and donate? Screw living here! We have the right to live where ever we please.
Real estate values could very possibly plummet if residency requirement was removed.
Imagine trying to sell your house: who would want to buy where even the police don't want to live.
Do residency opponents believe real estate values will go up when we want to sell?
CPS OIG's office is as cooked as Milwaukee Ave. when it comes to doing investigations, especially employee residency violators.
4 CPS OIG's (Phillip Wagenknecht, Amber Nesbitt, Svelyn William Fletcher, Nicholas Schuler) have been in possession of list of 40 CPS Employee Residency violators list since 2019, complete with a minimum of 8-10 pieces of evidence for each violator. Only 4 of those violators have been investigated, resigned, and then given a DNH designation. FOUR
What's the average salary of the remaining 36? $110K
The school that had the most residency violators was Steinmetz College Prep with 25 of them employed there since there 2015-16 school year. Currently, there's 12 violators left on the faculty and staff with 2 now at Schurz HS, 1 at Leif Ericson Elementary School, and 1 at Belmont Cragin Elementary School.
You might see 1-2 employee residency violators per school, but the current 12 violators at Steinmetz is way out of control. This includes an International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator Rachel Rezny that lives in Oak Park, IL and has for 16 years while making $122K and the Head of the English Dept Elizabeth Perez and she also lives in Oak Park, IL while making $109K.
Both women were initially hired by CPS while living in Bucktown apart from each other and this means neither is eligible for a CPS Residency waiver. Nor are either of them grandfathered-in with the old CPS Residency Policy that allows them to live wherever they choose if initially hired by CPS prior to 11-20-1996. (Rezny was hired by CPS on 09/17/2000 and Perez on 08/27/2003).
How about a post about these days of cancelled. No emergency and is it anywhere in our contract that bosses can pick and choose whos time due slips are more important than others?? Isnt that a seniority issue? Hein and Snelling you two are worthless, please retire and let us get some bosses with backbones instead of an overpromoted gym teacher and a career kiss ass. Think of how many parents you took away from their families this weekend because you are too dumb to formulate a plan without cancelling days off. You could prob get enough volunteers if you opened it up for voluntary OT.
Any way to lobby city council to overturn this city ordinance? Let contact other unions and see how this will play out in coming elections.
Where can I donate to this research study? End the outdated residency!
All it takes is a federal court challenge.
Examples of Cities That Have Recently Lifted Residency Requirements:
St. Louis, Missouri: As of August 2023, the city removed its long-standing residency requirement for city employees, including police officers, to help with recruitment and retention efforts.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The city lifted the requirement for police and correctional officers in April 2022, which mandated recruits live in the city for at least a year before applying.
Hammond, Indiana: In March 2022, the City Council voted to lift the residency requirement for new recruits to the police and fire departments to help them compete for candidates.
Alternatives to a Strict Residency Requirement
Some departments have adopted alternative approaches:
Proximity Requirements: Officers may be required to live within a certain distance or a specific driving time from the city.
County or Regional Residency: Some cities may require officers to live within the county or surrounding areas rather than strictly within the city limits.
Preference for City Residents: Other departments offer hiring preferences to candidates who already live in the city but don't require it for employment.
I agree, times change. Hiring requirements change. The job has changed. Attracting a desirable hiring pool is harder. Living in the city is more dangerous. It’s also more expensive and the inflation is outpacing our contractual wage increases- AKA we’re falling behind.
The only argument to maintain residency is a SELFISH argument from those attempting to use their home equity as a retirement plan, eventually selling it to another “city slave”.
At some point the cycle has to be broken and we should be freed to live where we choose, send our kids to the schools we want.
End residency please!
Even if it’s negotiated with the city that residency is required for 10 years and then you can move out, or if it’s a specified distance from the city. Anything is better than the strict “in the city limits” rule we currently have.
The city can’t claim that they care about “officer wellness” and our mental health, and then literally hold us captive and strip of us of our right to choice in this matter.
There used to be nice neighborhoods to live in this city. Now even the “good” neighborhoods are subject to violent crime. There are really no good neighborhoods left to live in, and you basically HAVE TO pay for private schools since the CPS schools are like gladiator training centers with future IDOC residents.
Nothing about the current residency requirement is for the best interest of the members. The only people who want to keep residency are those who also hate living here but invested poorly and are waiting to sell their house to have a little money.
Dont worry about a mass exodus, plenty of union workers and tradesmen, lawyers, doctors, tech people, etc don’t have residency requirements and they still choose to live in the city. Maybe the only thing that would happen is the housing market would come back into line with where the prices actually should be instead of being artificially juiced-up.
We are one of the last cities to have residency. And before anyone voices in. The police officers do not control enough property to make the Chicago go bust by moving.
Just finished my 30 year stint. I have a 3br ranch for sale on the far northwest side priced accordingly, now do your duty and pay up.
I counted 12 vehicles on one block in my neighborhood without Chicago vehicle stickers. One block! These are confirmed residents.
CPS technically is not a city agency (like CTA) which is why they have a separate tax levy and were allowed to live outside the city up until 2017 when new hires were contractually made to. Those hired prior to 2017 are grandfathered in and can live wherever
That's been talked about for over 40 years. Doubtful that will happen. Not to mention if it did, your home value would plummet.
7 yrs and out for residency?
I can see the point of this, GTFO of Chicago is the smart move, but, this will crash the value of homes in Copland North and South. If this happens, I would feel badly for anyone that bought high and hoped to sell higher to fund their retirement.
I love Chicago. If you don’t like the leadership of Chicago have the will, patience, Moxy, and balls to run for office. Do it again, and again, and again, and again. It took Abe Lincoln 9 times running for office and loosing each time to finally get elected.
America
Laws? Why follow the law? The Democrats ignore them daily for their benefit
Well guess what, some of us would make that drive to get our families out of Chicago. It should be our choice where we want to live. If I want to commute an hour a day to work, then that’s on me. My wife does it everyday in and out of downtown, along with tons of other people, and guess what they’re surviving the commute. You’re retired and prob not raising a family here anymore. I don’t want my kids to grow up here anymore and am willing to do the commute to make that happen.
Does anyone remember back in 2011. When IAD stripped a IAD investigator for residency.
It took three years to get to a police board. Where the police board found 9 to 0
That the Investigator had not violated any city law or Department orders.
The names related to this residency case were Sgt.Mike Barz and Sgt. Matthew Brown.
The investigation could not be in better hands. It was a total witch hunt. By Barz and Brown. Can anyone remember what Brady lists are? Barz and Brown do.
They were on the lists.
I suspect that a good amount of public teachers reside outside the city. No one seems to care and with the mayor in the back pocket of the union I think that attitude will continue.
You mean your 30 Year sentence and now paroled..lol
If residency were gone the city would be gone. No tax base would end employment and the pension. Think Detroit looks bad.
A possible angle might be to claim that taxpaying citizens are placed in an unfair disadvantage due to the influx of immigrants allowed in here due to a sanctuary city status. The decision to become a sanctuary city was decided by the City council but was never put on a ballot as a referendum for the citizens to vote on.
The city can force the employee to reside in the city, but they cannot force the employee's family to live in the city. The employee, can on his days off and on his furlough, go anywhere he/she likes to include spending time at the suburban house. This has been settled by the courts.
Funny thing when most cops retire 83 percent stay in the city. All seem to talk about getting out but never do.
Sounds like a personal problem, sucks to pay $350k + for a home that was never worth that much. You bought it, you figure it out.
A firefighter has decided to spear head the effort. He’s going to need all the help he can get. Aside from this being an uphill battle you know damn well they’re going to harass him at every turn.
What’s your proof of that? Every single city employee makes up less than 2% of the population. So you really think everyone would leave? It’s not our faults the city has gone to shit. We shouldn’t have to subject ourselves and our families to this situation that we didn’t create.
Sgts wont check but ill bet the suburban cops will be asked to check in on us...Only hoping the suburbs tell the city to go fuck themselves if thats the case... maybe...
Sounds like a personal problem, most of us did not overpay for a house so don’t feel sorry for those that did.
Retired CPS teacher here. Lived in the suburbs my entire 40 year career. Retired now 15 years. At the time, the Union Was A big supporter of “OPEN HOUSING “ laws. as taxpayers leave morals change
Well if a lawsuit is filed get it before one of the judges that does not live in the district he supposedly represents
Not plummet, but enter a correction phase.
The home values are currently and artificial overinflated.
And when the homes hit the market there will still be interest aside from police officers. Plenty of people with other professions live in the neighborhood and will continue to buy.
Seems fair to me.
A court would strike down residency completely, and if the union was smart they could negotiate a “7-year residency” back IN to the contract in exchange for something we want. That’s how you play ball.
I doubt the city council will ever go for it. But it seems the courts are universally overturning residency as unconstitutional. Might be the only way.
Real Estate values will continue to plummet regardless with the imbeciles that are in charge. This City has been circling the bowl for quite some time.
An old-timers poor financial planning should not be a reason to hold new-hires captive as slaves.
When Detroit went thru bankruptcy the residence requirements were removed. Once that happened cops and city workers abandoned Detroit in mass resulting in the values s of homes in area dominated by city employees plummeting.
Buy high and hope to sell higher seems like a really great financial strategy! I’m guessing you do the 4% fixed for your deferred comp too. Tell us more of your financial wizardry
I got on the job in 86 and back then there was talk of overturning the Rostenkowski Law that deprived police their social security benefit which many officers contributed to. At least if you got on at an older age and worked. Well It finally just happened. It only took 40 years! Residency is the other one. Legal standards change, New Supreme Court judges, politicians etc. Never stop fighting. Never give the bastards an inch. I was owed some back pay a couple of years ago, didn't get a check. Called FOP and was told it probably wasn't much. I didn't care. If it was a quarter I wanted a check. I'm not broke. Doing well in retirement. It turned out to be over two grand. Fuck letting the city keep it. I'm pretty sure the families of deceased members were never notified and the city still has the money. I remember reading, not long after that a lady who worked at payroll was indicted for cashing the unpicked up checks for gambling. Don't give these fucks a nickel if it's owed to you. Fuck 'em ALL.
Matt Brown the legend. When we had the ticket writing slow down in the day old Matt was the only one in the 006th District who continued to write tickets and carry the district to keep his “traffic car.” Spineless pos.
They can’t just remove the medical. The City would have to bargain with the FOP. The FOP and us shouldn’t vote to give up that great benefit that we have!
Hey, as a group you could rent a flop house appt. Family stays in suburbs. crash pads.
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